Elliot Page’s TIME cover: ‘I’m Fully Who I Am’

ABOVE: Elliot Page is the first transgender man to appear on the cover of TIME, featuring a photograph by Wynne Neilly. Photo via LA Blade/TIME.

Actor Elliot Page in his first interview, since disclosing in December that he is transgender, spoke with TIME magazine’s Katy Steinmetz in an exclusive interview about his journey since his announcement, the fight for trans equality and as the first trans man ever to appear on the publication’s cover.

The interview, which appears in the March 19 release of the magazine, in a far-reaching two part conversation detailed the actor’s sense of where he is headed in his life and his thoughts looking back at his journey so far.

Interview Highlights:

On how he is feeling, Page tells TIME: “This feeling of true excitement and deep gratitude to have made it to this point in my life, mixed with a lot of fear and anxiety.”

On how he expected his announcement would be received: “What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia. That’s ­essentially what happened.”

On being allowed to cut his hair short around age 9: “I felt like a boy. I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday.”

On the disconnect between how the world saw Page and who he knew himself to be: “I just never recognized myself. For a long time I could not even look at a photo of myself.”

On how he felt after coming out as gay in 2014: “The difference in how I felt before coming out as gay to after was massive. But did the discomfort in my body ever go away? No, no, no, no.”

On how downtime during quarantine helped Page accept his gender identity: “I had a lot of time on my own to really focus on things that I think, in so many ways, unconsciously, I was avoiding…. I was finally able to embrace being transgender and letting myself fully become who I am.”

On feeling a deep sense of responsibility to share his truth: “Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric—every day you’re seeing our existence debated. Transgender people are so very real.”

On the opportunity to advocate for others: “My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today, and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”

On political attacks on trans people: “We know who we are. People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place.”

On playing a new spectrum of roles: “I’m really excited to act, now that I’m fully who I am, in this body. No matter the challenges and difficult moments of this, nothing amounts to getting to feel how I feel now.”

GLAAD responded to the cover story with a statement from Nick Adams, GLAAD’s Director of Transgender Representation.

“Not only is Elliot Page a fine actor, he is also an advocate for equality and justice who continues to educate the world about who trans people really are and about why the current barrage of anti-trans bills promoted by fearmongering politicians are so harmful and unnecessary,” he shared.

The Mar. 29 / Apr. 5, 2021 issue of TIME is on sale as of Friday, March 19 and online here.

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